Big Sky and West Yellowstone, Montana Per Diem Rates for 2014

Big Sky / West Yellowstone has a fixed per-diem rate set by the General Services Administration (GSA), which is used to reimburse overnight travel expenses within the area for Federal employees as well as employees of private companies which also use the GSA's per diem rates.

The lodging per-diem rate of $86.00 is intended to cover the costs of one night's lodging at a hotel in Big Sky and West Yellowstone, based on the average daily rate in the local lodging industry. Many hotels and motels offer business travellers rooms at exactly the local per-diem rate.

The meals & incidentals rate (M&IE rate) of $61.00 is intended to cover the costs of a single days' worth of meals and incidental costs (such as tips and parking) based on the average cost for these expenses in the Big Sky and West Yellowstone area. If you spend less than the $61.00 per diem, you can generally keep the remainder.

Travelling for the government is referred to as Temporary Duty, or TDY. A TDY trip for which per-diems are issued can last up to 180 consecutive days before it's considered Permanent Change of Station (PCS), and no longer eligible for per-diems.

Updated per diem rates are released every fiscal year by the GSA based on a national study of accommodation and meal costs, and can vary month-to-month due to seasonal pricing changes or stay the same throughout the year depending on the area in question.

In the Big Sky / West Yellowstone per-diem area, per-diem rates vary month by month due to seasonal pricing changes in the area. Month-by-month rates for 2014 are listed in the above table.

Per Diem Meals & Incidentals Rate

The federal government provides one lodging per-diem for each night travelled, and one meals & incidentals per-diem for each full day travelled. However, on your first and last days of travel, you may be issued only half of the meal / daily per diem rate.

If you spend less then the $61.00 meals & incidentals per diem in any day, you get to keep the remainder.

Other Per-Diem Areas in Montana

There are a total of five areas in Montana for which location specific per-diem rates is set by the GSA. For travel to areas within Montana for which there are not specified per diem rates, general per diem rates are used. For more details, see the Montana per diem rates homepage or choose any area from the list below.